1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to sputtering of materials. In particular, the invention relates to the magnetron creating a magnetic field to enhance sputtering.
2. Background Art
Sputtering, alternatively called physical vapor deposition (PVD), is the most prevalent method of depositing layers of metals and related materials in the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits. The semiconductor industry typically uses DC magnetron sputtering in which a wafer to be sputter deposited is placed in opposition to a metal target across a plasma reactor chamber filled with an argon working gas. The target is biased sufficiently negatively with respect to the chamber that the argon is excited into a plasma. The positively charged argon ions are strongly accelerated toward the target and sputter metal atoms from the target. The metal atoms dislodged from the target fall at least in part on the wafer and are deposited in a layer thereon.
In metal sputtering, the target or its least its inner surface has substantially the same metallic composition as that desired for the sputter deposited layer, for example, aluminum, copper, titanium, tantalum, tungsten, etc. In reactive sputtering, a chemically reactive gas such as nitrogen is additionally supplied into the chamber and the reactive gas reacts with sputtered metal atoms near the wafer surface to deposit a metal compound on the wafer, such as the refractory metal nitrides TiN, TaN, WN. The refractory nitrides are particularly useful as barrier layers between a dielectric and a later sputtered metal layer, and the associated refractory metal is often used as a glue layer promoting adhesion of the metal to the dielectric. Accordingly, it is often advantageous to use the same sputter reactor to deposit a bilayer liner of, for example, Ti/TiN, Ta/TaN, or W/WN. Sputtering is also used to coat the sides of a via hole with a thin copper seed layer that nucleates and provides an electrode for subsequent filling of copper into the hole by electrochemical plating (ECP).
However, for advanced integrated circuits, sputtering suffers from the fundamental problem that sputter deposition, as described above, is primarily a ballistic process between the target and wafer in which the sputtered atoms are emitted in a broad pattern about the normal to the target. Such a distribution is ill suited to filling narrow holes, such as via holes extending through an inter-level dielectric layer separating two layers of metallization. Such via holes in advanced devices have aspect ratios of 3:1 and greater. A broad sputtering pattern causes the top of the hole to close before the bottom is filled. That is, voids are created in the sputtered via metallization. Similarly, sputtered liner layers tend to be much thicker at the top of the via hole than at the bottom.
One method of adapting sputtering to deep hole filling, as well as other applications, is self-ionized plasma (SIP) sputtering, as disclosed by Fu in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/249,468, filed Feb. 12, 1999 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,825. and by Chiang et al. in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/414,014, filed Oct. 8, 1999 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,929, both incorporated herein by reference in their entities. SIP sputtering allows a significant fraction of the sputtered atoms to be ionized using a somewhat conventional sputtering reactor. The sputtered metal ions can be electrically attracted into narrow via holes in the wafer. Furthermore, the sputtered metal ions can in part be attracted back to the target to further sputter the target, thereby allowing the pressure of the argon working gas to be significantly decreased. In the case of copper, it is possible to eliminate the need for the argon working gas after the plasma has been ignited in a process called sustained self-sputtering (SSS).
An example of a SIP sputter reactor 10 is schematically illustrated in cross section in FIG. 1. It includes chamber wall 12 supporting a biased metal target 14 through a dielectric isolator 16. A wafer 18 is held on a pedestal electrode 20 by, for example, a clamping ring 22 although an electrostatic chuck may alternatively be used. The chamber walls 12 are protected from sputter deposition by an electrically grounded shield 24, which also acts as an anode to the target cathode. An electrically floating shield 26 supported on a second dielectric isolator 28 is arranged about a central chamber axis 30 between the grounded shield 24 and the target 14. A negative charge inherently builds up on the floating shield 26 during sputtering and repels plasma electrons, thereby reducing electron leakage and extending the plasma closer to the wafer 18.
Argon working gas is supplied into the chamber 12 from a gas supply 32 and is metered by a mass flow controller 34. The working gas flows into the processing region through a gap 35 between the pedestal 20, the grounded shield 24, and the wafer clamp 22. A vacuum pumping system 36 connected to a pumping port 38 maintains the interior of the chamber 12 at a low but controllable pressure. A negative DC power supply 40 biases the target 14 to about xe2x88x92600 VDC, which after ignition excites the argon working gas into a plasma. The negative bias attracts the ions to the target 14, where they sputter target atoms, which are thereafter deposited on the wafer 18 to form a layer of sputtered material. An RF power supply 42 applies RF power to the pedestal electrode 20, which causes it to develop a negative DC self-bias in the presence of a plasma. A computerized controller 44 controls the power supplies 40, 42, the mass flow controller 32, and the pumping system 36, thereby controlling the sputtering conditions.
A magnetron 50 is located in back of the target 14 to generate a magnetic field adjacent to the front (bottom) of the target 14. The magnetic field traps electrons, which raises the plasma density in a high-density plasma region 52, thereby increasing the sputtering rate. An argon chamber pressure of about 6 to 10 milliTorr is typically required to ignite the plasma. However, if the density of metal ions in the high-density plasma region 52 is sufficiently high, the supply of argon can be reduced and sometimes eliminated so that a significant portion if not all of the target sputtering is effected by metal ions in the SIP process. Chamber pressure for SIP sputtering can be reduced to well below 1 milliTorr. The very low sputtering pressures are advantageous in reducing scattering of the sputtered atoms as they move towards the wafer and in reducing the temperature of the wafer since energetic argon ions are no longer bombarding it.
SIP sputtering is promoted by high target power and a small-area intense magnetic field produced by the magnetron 50, as well as designing the magnetron to minimize plasma leakage to the shields and target. Such a magnetron 50 includes an inner magnet pole 53 of one magnetic polarity surrounded by an outer magnet pole 54 of the other magnetic polarity in a nested configuration. One or both magnet poles 53, 54 may be composed of multiple magnets with perhaps a pole face linking the magnets within the pole. The illustrated magnetic polarities are the polarities at one end of the magnets with the other ends having the unillustrated opposite polarity. The inner and outer magnet poles 53, 54 are magnetically coupled by a magnetic yoke 56 on their sides away from the target 30. The magnetron 50 is an unbalanced magnetron in which the total magnetic flux, that is, flux density integrated over the surface of the pole face, produced by the outer pole 54 is significantly larger than the total magnetic flux produced by the inner pole 53, for example, by a factor of at least 1.5. The integrated magnetic flux may be referred to as the total magnetic intensity. The unbalanced magnetron 50 produces a magnetic field distribution which has components extending from the outer pole 54 far towards the wafer 18, thereby extending the plasma and guiding the metal ions towards the wafer 18.
The magnetron 50 has a relatively small area and is disposed away from the central chamber axis 30. An unillustrated motor drives a motor shaft 58 extending along the central axis and supporting the magnetron 50 through the magnetic yoke 56. Thereby, the magnetron is swept around the target 14 to produce a circularly symmetric erosion pattern.
Many configurations have been suggested for the SIP magnetron. Most of them suffer from one or more deficiencies. The sputtering rate is controlled in large part by the component of magnetic field parallel and close to the target surface. The horizontal component of magnetic field is relatively low in prior SIP magnetrons. Bringing the outer pole closer to the inner pole would increase the horizontal magnetic field but would likely worsen the sputtering uniformity from an already small-area magnetron. On the other hand, enlarging the inner pole to bring it closer to the outer pole, assuming each is composed of magnets of similar magnetic flux density, would reduce the unbalance between the two poles and thus reduce the magnetic field reaching towards the wafer, which guides the metal ions toward the wafer. The low magnetic flux density presents an acute problem near the outer periphery of the target, generally close to the outer edge of the outer pole. Sputtered metal atoms redeposit in the low-field peripheral region and are not resputtered. The redeposited metal does not bond well to the target. As a result, at increasing thicknesses of layer of redeposited metal, the layer tends to peel from the target, producing deleterious particles in the chamber.
A typical magnetron used for conventional sputtering includes closely spaced tracks of opposed poles in a closed pattern, for example, as disclosed by Tepman in U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,728 or Parker in U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,566. Often, horseshoe magnets arranged along the closed pattern are coupled to two continuous pole faces. While this design produces a very intense magnetic field between the closely spaced tracks, the poles have equal magnetic intensity, that is, are balanced, so that they do not produce the projecting magnetic field desired for SIP.
A further problem arises from the desire to reduce the argon pressure so that the plasma is barely supported and is operating in conditions close to extinguishment. Such a plasma is unstable. Even if it does not extinguish, it may change in intensity and distribution, effects which degrade the desired uniformity of sputter deposition.
A magnetron useful for DC sputtering having an inner pole of one magnetic polarity surrounded by an outer pole of another polarity. The inner pole may be composed of a tubular magnet having an axial passageway through which the magnetic field lines may pass from the front of the tubular magnet to its rear. A similar effect is obtained by multiple magnets arranged in a closed band.
The magnetron is preferably an unbalanced magnetron in which the total magnetic flux of the outer pole is significantly greater than that of the inner pole, for example, in a ratio of at least 1.5.
The magnetic field produced by the tubular magnet creates a minimum or maximum in the axial magnetic field near the tubular magnet. This location is a saddle point of the magnetic field. The saddle point should be located on the processing side of the target. Such a placement creates a plasma reservoir.
In another aspect of the invention, a magnetic pole face on the inner magnet has a portion cantilevered away from the magnet, preferably in a direction facing the apex side of a generally triangular outer magnet assembly. Such a configuration may produce a magnetic flux that varies in the azimuthal direction from the inner magnet.
The invention further includes a magnetron having an outer pole of a generally triangular shape surrounding an inner pole of the opposite magnetic polarity. The outer pole has a shape of a closed bands of two straight portions inclined with respect to each other by between 35xc2x0 and 65xc2x0 and further of two circular arc segments smoothly joined to the end of the straight portions.